Shopping in Bali

I hardly shop whenever I travel. Shopping doesn't interest me cause most of the stuff that I bought used to end up at Cash Convertors or in the recycling bin.

But during my recent trip to Bali, I did a bit of shopping cause I went there with family members whose sole purpose whenever they travel is to shop till they drop.

Here are some stuff I bought in Bali which I would like to show you.

Don't know why, but I tend to get attracted to beer t-shirts whenever I go to a country that has its own beer.

Bintang Beer is the national beer of Indonesia, like what Beer Laos is in Laos.

Since Indonesia has its own beer, I bought a Bintang Beer tank top and t-shirt to add to my collection.

You can find Bintang Beer t-shirts almost anywhere in Bali. I bought these from one of the shops along Jalan Legian in Kuta. Cost: IDR50,000 (RM18.30) for both t-shirts.

**********
Celuk is a place in Bali that is famous for its hand crafted silver jewellery. There are numerous shops in the area all selling silver jewellery of various designs.

On our way to Tanah Lot, the driver stopped at one of the shops there for us to browse around.

The last time I was in Bali in November 2007, the driver also dropped us at one of the shops in Celuk. But at that time I didn't fancy the designs. I thought they were old fashioned.

But this time around I saw this jewellery set that I fancied.

Pendant and chain

Matching earrings. Don't know why this photo is elongated.

The sales assistant will pack your jewellery in cute woven containers like these.

If you're interested, this picture contains the address and contact details of the shop. Just click on the photo to enlarge it. Otherwise, please drop me an email.

Costs me IDR600,000 (RM219.30) for the pendant, chain and earrings. Had to pay by credit card cause didn't bring enough cash.

 

**********
The Art Market in Ubud is a dream come true for anyone who has the shopping DNA in their genes. There are many shops here selling stuff like home deco, paintings, hand crafted wooden boxes, clothing, costume jewellery, shawls and the list goes on.

When my family members stepped into the art market, heaven came down and glory filled their shopping soul. So I excused myself and headed to Milano Spa to get a Brazilian wax. The spa is located near the football field on Monkey Forest Road.

After getting myself as clean as a baby (huge grin), I walked back to the art market to look for my family members.

As I was passing one of the shops in the art market, a leopard print dress caught my eye. I quickly enquired the price cause I had developed a crush on animal print clothing lately. Opening price was IDR50,000 (RM18.30) and I bargained to IDR20,000 (RM7.30). So what else but grab lah!

My dirt cheap leopard print dress bought from Ubud Art Market

**********
I had one bad experience about shopping in Bali when I paid quite high a price for 4 pairs of earrings. Story goes like this ...

I had just finished a traditional herbal (lulur) massage at Sicilia Spa in Kuta. I was so relaxed and happy after that massage that I was not thinking straight.

Can you blame me for not thinking straight when the spa was so damn gorgeous? A traditional herbal (lulur) massage here costs IDR165,000 (inclusive of 10% tax), which is approximately RM60.00. In Malaysia I would definitely be paying more than RM150 for a similar treatment!

Anyway, at the entrance of the lane leading to Sicilia Spa on Double Six, there are many shops selling costume jewellery at wholesale prices. Since I had extra Rupiah to spend before my flight back to KL, I walked into one of the shops to buy a few pairs of earrings.

The lady quoted me a price. After stating my price and the lady stated hers, I thought it was a fair price and paid up.

As I was walking back to the hotel I did a mental calculation to convert the amount into Malaysian Ringgit. It was then that I realised I could get similar earrings for a much cheaper price in Malaysia.

IDR50,000 for four pairs of earring is expensive.

I think I must have gotten all confused with the Indonesian Rupiah which come in a bigger denomination and difficult to convert to Malaysian Ringgit. Anyway, no use crying over spilled milk.



**********
Ok, so enough of shopping in Bali. I'm not gonna shop anymore when I head to Surabaya and Jogjakarta on 16 February. Mt Bromo and Borobudur ... here I come !!!